Bowlby’s Theory Of Maternal Deprivation Flashcards
What does maternal deprivation mean??
Refers to separation/ loss of maternal care with no substitute caregiver to replace maternal care
What is the two laws with maternal deprivation??
Law of continuity
Law of accumulated separation
What did Bowlby’s theory suggest??
Is that continual disruption of the attachment between infant and primary caregiver could result in long term cognitive, social and emotional difficulties for the infant
What then does Bowlby propose of maternal deprivation??
- mother love in infancy is just as important as the child’s mental health, vitamins and minerals are for physical health
- separation from the mother would result in severe damage to a child’s social, emotional and cognitive development
- maternal deprivation could lead to a number of long term effects including:
Affectionless psychopathy, development retardation, delinquency , increased depression and aggression.
What is Affectionless psychopathy??
Is an inability to to show affection or concerns for others. Such individuals act on impulse with little regard for the consequences of their actions. For example, showing no guilt for antisocial behaviour
What is development retardation??
Deprivation could significantly impair intellectual and adaptive functioning throughout life - they will become underachievers
What is Delinquency??
If a child is deprived of their caregiver , Bowlby suggested they may turn to crime to compensate for their lost relationship
- it could also be because they cannot feel empathy and empathising with a potential victim helps us resist the urge to commit crime
What is increased aggression??
Being volatile, violent and worsening acts of anger and hostility towards other and property
What is depression??
Add characteristics
Explain how Goldfarb’s study support Bowlby’s predictions
They studied two groups of children
- those who spent a few months in an orphanage compared to those who spent 3 years in an orphanage before being fostered.
- results: longer time in an orphanage worsened IQ scores, less developed social skills and more likely to be aggressive
What is Bowlby’s research??
- wanted to investigate the long term effects of maternal deprivation on people in order to see whether delinquents have suffered deprivation
- between 1939-?? An opportunity sample of 88 children was severed from the clinic where Bowlby worked.
- of these 44 jubilee thieves had been referred to him because of their stealing
- Bowlby selected another group of 44 children to act as controls
- they assessed them by:
IQ test upon arrival by a psychologist who assessed emotional attitudes towards test
Social worker interviews a parent to record details of child’s early life
Psychiatrist conducted interviews with child accompanying parent
What were the results of Bowlby’s research??
- more than half of the juvenile thieves had been separated from their mothers for longer than 6 months during their first 5 years. Control group only had 2/44. 32% showed affectionless psychopathy whereas none of the control groups showed that.
- 86% of the affectionless psychopaths had experience a long period of maternal separation before the age of 5 years
- 17% of those not diagnosed as affectionless psychopathy had experienced maternal separation
What are the strengths of Bowlby’s maternal deprivation??
- research support
- practical applications - changed prison systems and the introduction of mother and baby units
What are the weaknesses of Bowlby’s maternal deprivation??
- contradictory evidence - Czech twins: lost mother after birth - boys fostered but returned to father and step mother where they were kept in the cellar and werent rescued till 7 years old but by age 14 their IQ normalised and by 21 they were enlisted in national service
- methodology flaws in Bowlby’s research - not cause and affect
- theoretical flaws
